Smoke + Acoustics?

[glyconerd]

Hi everyone! I'm an acoustic guitar n00b.

 

I recently bought a used yamaha FG-420a it looks ok, the frets are ugly looking though, but I didn't mind because I figured I'd just polish them...So, I buy it, took it home, but once I take it out of it's case for a closer inspection a strong smell of tobacco is emanating from the inside of the guitar! I guess the previous owner was a heavy smoker...

 

My question is: can smoke affect the sound of the guitar or any other aspect of the guitar's functionality? I don't mind the pungent smell. I just want to learn

 

Thanks

[guitarist21]

After years of playing in smoky bars, I would say that the smoke hasn't adversly affected the sound of any of my guitars. Of course, my guitars were only exposed to smoke for a short period of time whenever I had a gig at a smoky bar.

 

Ellen

[T'aint]

Good question. Where there's smoke odor there's resins causing the odor and those resins are inside the guitar. I doubt there can be any harm done from them but it would cause me to further research the subject to try to remove them through some non-mechanical method. Maybe some baking soda product can do that?

[Muddslide]

I smoke a pipe prodigiously. It puts out lots of smoke, though not as nasty as cigs IMO.

 

I smoke my pipe while I play a lot. Though most of my acoustics have been cased, I've never notied any damage or anything.

 

However I admit if I had a real expensive acoustic I would be more careful. But since I won't spend more than $500 on any instrument (and more likely under $300), I don't worry about it none.

[AK47]

I can't say if the smoke effects the sound or not. You can't do an A/B comparison with the same guitar. If you like the sound don't worry about it.

I had bought a guitar years ago that had this problem. I had tried all kinds of things to get rid of the smell. The smell had permiated the wood.

The thing I did that finally worked for me was,

 

I took the strings off the guitar.

 

Placed it on its back where it would not be disturbed.

 

Set a container with a little bit of bleach in it inside the sound hole.

 

Set a book or something over the sound hole to make it near air tight.

 

Let the bleach permiate the inside of the guitar for a couple of days.

 

The inside of the guitar will smell like bleach for a short time but this scent will go away.

 

"Do NOT spill the bleach inside your guitar."

 

This is what eventually worked for me.

[DeepEnd]

AFAIK it won't hurt the wood (although it will probably darken the finish) but I've never smoked anyway. I like AK47's suggestion for removing the smell. Beats temporarily fillling the guitar with baking soda. BTW, does anyone know what Febreze might do to a guitar? Never used the stuff so I don't know if it can be used on wood. I know it's meant for fabrics.

[fastvfr]

Don't use Febreze. The water will cause the wood to warp.

 

Just having it out of that environmant will cause the reek to slowly leave it, I would think.

 

Just clean the finished surfaces and play it. It should be fine as long as there's nothing loose in there...

[recordingtrack1]

I played in bars for years. Don't smoke. My "music room" smells like cig smoke. It is especially bad coming from my amplifiers, but even my guitar cases still smell like it. A friend of mine once told me that speakers sort of "breathe" as they pump. He says this draws the smoke through them. Considering how they maintain the smell, this could very well be true.

 

Rt1:freak:

[DeepEnd]

In the case of your amps, AFAIK it's more a matter of paper (which is what speaker cones are generally made of) being porous rather than any "pumping" that might go on.

 

And thanks fastvfr for the Febreze advice. I thought it might be alcohol-based or something which would mean it would evaporate before it could do any serious damage. As I said, I've never used the stuff myself.

[Ultimate Dave]

i dont know, but my guitar sure is hiiiiiiiiiigh

[kwakatak]

LOL - this topic reminds me of the craziest thread I came across awhile back over at the Acoustic Guitar Magazine forum. It involved a smoky bar, a Breedlove acoustic guitar set on its stand between sets and an overly inebriated patron who was in a rush to the men's room but didn't make it there in time! I can't put it ay plainer: the guy blew chunks all over the guitar and some got into the soundhole!

 

http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=000010;p=1

 

BTW - bleach didn't work in that case. In fact, the owner had the hardest time selling it afterwards and had to resort to some trickery to unload the guitar.

[Marko]

Originally posted by kwakatak ...smoky bar, a Breedlove acoustic guitar set on its stand between sets and an overly inebriated patron who was in a rush to the men's room but didn't make it there in time! I can't put it ay plainer: the guy blew chunks all over the guitar and some got into the soundhole!

 

 

Wow. Between that, the smoke, and other things (other liquids, as well) that could damage a guitar, either between sets or the other guitars one might have there on stand...

 

Does does anyone employ some kind of cover for such a situation?

 

Hell, I

[glyconerd]

Originally posted by AK47 I can't say if the smoke effects the sound or not. You can't do an A/B comparison with the same guitar. If you like the sound don't worry about it. I had bought a guitar years ago that had this problem. I had tried all kinds of things to get rid of the smell. The smell had permiated the wood. The thing I did that finally worked for me was, I took the strings off the guitar. Placed it on its back where it would not be disturbed. Set a container with a little bit of bleach in it inside the sound hole. Set a book or something over the sound hole to make it near air tight. Let the bleach permiate the inside of the guitar for a couple of days. The inside of the guitar will smell like bleach for a short time but this scent will go away. "Do NOT spill the bleach inside your guitar." This is what eventually worked for me.

 

Not a bad idea . Thanks

[Marko]

Smoke some nice-smelling pipe tobacco and blow it in there. It

[guitarist21]

I think this would be a good time to say that if you're smoking and playing guitar, be careful. Celluloid picks are like sticks of dynamite. Speaking from experience (read: experiment in high school chemistry).

[fastvfr]

 

Originally posted by kwakatak It involved a smoky bar, a Breedlove acoustic guitar set on its stand between sets and an overly inebriated patron who was in a rush to the men's room but didn't make it there in time! I can't put it ay plainer: the guy blew chunks all over the guitar and some got into the soundhole!

 

 

Oh, now, that is just nasty.

 

And it's also a very strong argument for never playing a guitar valued at over $200 outside of your house!

[kwakatak]

Originally posted by fastvfr Oh, now, that is just nasty. And it's also a very strong argument for never playing a guitar valued at over $200 outside of your house!

 

C'mon, admit it - you laughed!

[d28andm1911a1]

If your guitar doesn't smell like smoke ya can't play the blues.

 

I won't buy a used guitar that doesn't smell like smoke, I play de blues.

[Marlin in Minn]

Originally posted by glyconerd Hi everyone! I'm an acoustic guitar n00b. I recently bought a used yamaha FG-420a it looks ok, the frets are ugly looking though, but I didn't mind because I figured I'd just polish them...So, I buy it, took it home, but once I take it out of it's case for a closer inspection a strong smell of tobacco is emanating from the inside of the guitar! I guess the previous owner was a heavy smoker... My question is: can smoke affect the sound of the guitar or any other aspect of the guitar's functionality? I don't mind the pungent smell. I just want to learn Thanks

 

No, it won't hurt or impair the guitar in any way. If you do decide you want to be rid of the smell, just lightly mist a little AtmosKlear two or three times over the course of a month or so.

 

AtmosKlear has no smell of it's own and can usually be found at Ace Hardware. It does a wonderfull job of elimimating oders.

[Chirpy_72]

maybe you could hang one of those pine-tree car fresheners from the strings while it's in it's case ... or maybe you could take up smoking .... you'll never notice the smell again.

[Marko]

Originally posted by d28andm1911a1 If your guitar doesn't smell like smoke ya can't play the blues. I won't buy a used guitar that doesn't smell like smoke, I play de blues.

 

[glyconerd]

 

Originally posted by Chirpy_72 maybe you could hang one of those pine-tree car fresheners from the strings while it's in it's case ... or maybe you could take up smoking .... you'll never notice the smell again.

 

 

Hummmmmmm! I COULD. But I'd like to keep my dentition for further mastication beyond my 50s. Good idea though.